The leaders of an organised crime gang that flooded Harrogate with heroin and crack cocaine have been jailed for over 25 years.
The Bradford gang operated a county line drug dealing set-up known as the Pat Line through which they targeted vulnerable drug users in Harrogate.
They recruited Harrogate drug dealers Natalie Hullah, 33, previously of Harrogate, but now of St Edmund’s Street, Manchester, and Melissa Nicole Barnwell, 49, of Skipton Road, Harrogate, to sell the drugs locally in return for payment in heroin or crack cocaine.
The Pat Line was one of three lines shut down by North Yorkshire Police through a Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Order in 2020.
Qasib Hussain, 25, of HMP Wetherby, previously of Idle Road, Bradford, dictated the movement of large quantities of class A drugs from West Yorkshire into North Yorkshire.
Qasib Hussain
This was done through the use of couriers who travelled from Bradford to Harrogate where the drugs were sold following a bulk text message sent from Qasib Hussain to users in Harrogate.
The Pat Line predominantly remained with Qasib Hussain in Bradford where he conducted his operation but on occasion it was passed to others to manage such as his brother, Aqib Ali Hussain, 24, of Killinghall Road in Bradford.
Aqib Ali Hussain
Aqib’s role included topping up the county line handsets and travelling to and from Harrogate to oversee the smooth selling of the drugs belonging to Qasib.
Hussain Khan, 25, of Greenway Road, Bradford, would step into Aqib’s role if Qasib was elsewhere.
The investigation was able to show that Aqib Ali Hussain had made multiple journeys to Harrogate, including 16 separate journeys over three consecutive days, each one lasting around half an hour before he returned to Bradford.
It showed the top trio were linked to the two phone numbers of the Pat Line through analysis of phone data messages, CCTV of them topping up the phones at local shops, and text messages between the group and their local dealers talking about how much they had made.
Hussain Khan
All five were charged with conspiracy to supply class A drugs and pleaded guilty in 2021. They were jailed for:
Qasib Hussain – nine years and nine months
Aqib Ali Hussain – six years and nine months. He was also sentenced for an additional two years and three months in relation to another investigation in West Yorkshire that targeted York, bringing the total term of imprisonment to nine years and two months (consecutive).
Hussain Khan – six years and three months
Melissa Barnwell – 16 months suspended for two years, six months’ drug rehabilitation requirement and complete 25 days of rehabilitation activity
Natalie Hullah – 21 months suspended for two years, and must complete 21 days of rehabilitation activity
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‘They flooded Harrogate with drugs’
Detective Chief Inspector Fionna McEwan of North Yorkshire Police, said:
“Today’s outcome is a result of a lengthy and painstaking investigation. We are pleased to finally see the results at court.
“They flooded Harrogate with drugs, making money at the expense of local users, the majority of whom were vulnerable due to their socioeconomic background and mental health conditions. They have no conscience and no concern whatsoever for the people they are putting at risk of serious harm. They now have ample time to reflect on their life-choices and the damage it causes.
“Drug dealing and the violence and exploitation that accompanies county lines remains a foremost priority for North Yorkshire Police. We are committed to disrupting the offenders and taking those responsible off the streets.
“We urge anyone with information to continue to report information about drug dealing in their area. It’s vital in helping us piece together the bigger picture.
“No matter how insignificant you think the information is, please call us. And if you don’t want to speak to us, you can pass information anonymously to Crimestoppers.”
County lines
‘County lines’ is the term given to a form of organised crime in which drug dealers, usually from urban areas, such as West Yorkshire or Manchester, target smaller towns and cities. It takes its name from the mobile phone lines used by dealers to advertise drugs for sale. Violence and intimidation is prevalent within county lines.
A major concern for North Yorkshire Police is a practice known as cuckooing, which is where drug dealers take over the home of a vulnerable person and use it to store and sell drugs. They often use violence and intimidation to achieve this.
Members of the public provide invaluable information that helps shape our operational activity and we urge residents to look out for the signs of cuckooing in their neighbourhood and report any concerns they have.
Signs of “cuckooing” to look out for include:
Increased callers at a property
• Increase in cars pulling up for short periods of time
• Different accents at a property
• Increased antisocial behaviour at a property
• Not seeing the resident for long periods of time
• Unfamiliar vehicles at the property
• Windows covered or curtains closed for long periods
• Communal doors propped open
Ex-Harrogate Lib Dem candidate jailed for abusing girl
Former Harrogate Liberal Democrat candidate Anthony Medri has been jailed for over two years for sexually abusing a teenage girl and paying her to send him intimate photos of herself.
Medri, 64, from Knaresborough, sexually assaulted the girl on several occasions and sent her a picture of an intimate part of his body, York Crown Court heard.
The Harrogate Borough Council candidate in 2015 also urged her to send him indecent pictures of herself, said prosecutor Shaun Dodds.
He said that Medri, who is married, had sexually assaulted the youngster by touching her on intimate parts of her body and kissing her on the lips.
Medri asked the girl on social media if she had “ever seen a grown man’s (private parts)”. He then sent her an intimate picture of himself and told her to delete the messages.
Mr Dodds said that in 2017, Medri started transferring money into the girl’s bank account and asking her what she was wearing.
This was followed by a request for a picture of her in her underwear and a promise to pay her £50 if she sent it. Mr Dodds said:
“She sent an image of herself wearing a bra.
“He had previously bought her some underwear…and asked her for photos wearing that underwear.”
The prosecutor said that between 2017 and 2019, £580 of payments were made into the victim’s account for intimate photos of her. Mr Dodds added:
“Sometimes she would also get payments in cash as well.”
Grooming process
Medri – who stood unsuccessfully as a candidate for the Lib Dems in the 2015 local elections when he contested the Stray ward – initially gave the girl money so she could treat herself, which the prosecution said was part of the grooming process.
He would tell the girl “to get yourself something nice”, said Mr Dodds.
The victim “wasn’t in a good place” at the time and she felt that Medri used this to take advantage of her difficult circumstances.
He bought her treats such as perfume, clothes, tobacco and vodka – along with a sex toy and told her to “try it out”. The victim put the item in a bin.
Mr Dodds said that on the occasions Medri tried to kiss the girl, she would pull away, but he would kiss her again. He once drove her to a remote location where he sexually assaulted her.
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Medri was ultimately brought in for questioning and accepted having asked for pictures of the girl in her underwear and that he had given her money, but initially denied sexually assaulting her.
A trial was due to be held but Medri ultimately admitted one count of intentionally causing a child to look at an image of a person engaging in a sexual act, three counts of sexual assault and three counts of causing or inciting the sexual exploitation of a child to become a prostitute or be involved in pornography, namely asking the girl for photos of herself in her underwear.
Mr Medri, of Forest Moor Road, appeared for sentence today when the court heard a harrowing statement from the young victim.
She said she had been left with the “overwhelming” feeling that she was somehow at fault for the abuse.
This and the fact that Medri had protested his innocence for so long had caused her “extreme anxiety”. She added:
“I don’t think I will ever get over what has happened. I think about it every single day.”
Carer for disabled wife
Defence barrister Jeremy Barton said there had been a “plethora” of character references provided by friends and family of Medri.
He conceded, however, that Medri’s offences, which occurred over a period of about a year, were “disturbing and worrying”.
He said that Medri, who had worked all his life and was now a carer for his disabled wife, had shown a “degree of remorse”.
Judge Sean Morris told Medri he should have owned up to his offences “a long time ago” and described his protestations of innocence until his belated guilty pleas as “gutless”.
He told Medri:
“For heaven’s sake man, why did you put this girl through all those months of anguish waiting for (what was expected to be) a trial. It’s gutless.”
He said that only an immediate prison sentence was appropriate for inciting a young girl “in a vulnerable position to sell pictures of (herself) for Medri’s “sexual pleasure”.
The judge said that Medri had taken advantage of the girl when she was in a “desperate state” because of her life circumstances.
Medri was jailed for two years and two months, but he will only serve half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.
Medri was also given a five-year sexual-harm prevention order to protect children and placed on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.
Harrogate man jailed for ‘flagrant disregard for people and their property’
Harrogate man Cieran Bamford has been jailed for 16 weeks.
Bamford, 31, of Knaresborough Road, pleaded guilty to making threats to a named woman who feared violence would be used against her when he appeared in court on Tuesday.
Court documents state the offence was “so serious because the defendant has a flagrant disregard for people and their property”.
Bamford was given a restraining order prohibiting contact with the victim until April 2028.
Magistrates in York also ordered him to pay £154 to victim services.
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Ripon man jailed for attacking police in Harrogate
A Ripon man has been jailed for attacking three police officers at Harrogate Police Station.
Benjamin Donnelly, 36, admitted the offences when he appeared before magistrates in York yesterday.
He was jailed for 16 weeks because of the seriousness of the offences and his previous record.
Donnelly, of Somerset Row, pleaded guilty to assaulting the officers on Friday last week.
He also admitted assaulting a custody worker at the police station on Beckwith Head Road and was fined £300.
Following the case, a spokeswoman for North Yorkshire Police said:
“Assaults against police officers, staff and other emergency services will never be tolerated. We have a robust process in place for investigating offences and bringing those responsible to justice.
“If you assault an emergency services worker, you will be dealt with to the fullest extent of the law, which will frequently end in a prison sentence. That’s how serious this offence is.”
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Harrogate man jailed for assaulting three police officers in Ripon
A man from a village near Harrogate has been jailed for six months for assaulting police officers.
James Ashley Gibb, 34, initially denied attacking three police officers in Ripon Market Place on October 28 last year.
But Gibb, of Ripon Road, Killinghall, changed his plea and was sentenced at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week.
Court documents say he was jailed due to the seriousness of the offence and also “because of different kinds of assaults including biting, kicking and threat of spitting and committed whilst on post-sentence supervision”.
The offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending, the documents added.
The incident in Ripon Market Place last year
Gibb also pleaded guilty to using racially aggravated threatening or abusive words.
He was also given a concurrent four-month prison sentence for threatening a person on Station Parade in Harrogate on January 14 this year.
Besides being jailed, he was fined £275.
Harrogate woman jailed for 10 weeks
A woman from Harrogate has been jailed for 10 weeks for failing to comply with a community order.
Claire Read, 28, of Fairfax Avenue, admitted the offence when she appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Friday.
Read received a suspended sentence, which included a community order, on September 23 last year.
As part of this, she was required to attend an appointment on February 15 but failed to do so.
Court documents say Read was jailed for ‘wilful and persistent failure to comply with the requirements of a community order’.
The documents added her guilty plea was taken into account when the sentence was imposed.
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Knaresborough man jailed for ‘flagrant disregard for court orders’
A Knaresborough man has been jailed for 12 weeks after admitting theft.
Frankie Gilmour, 33, of Nora Avenue, pleaded guilty to stealing a bag worth £99.99 from TK Maxx in Harrogate when he appeared at Harrogate Magistrates Court on Thursday.
The offence, on February 20, came while Gilmour was serving a suspended eight-week jail sentence issued two weeks earlier.
Magistrates imposed a four-week jail sentence as well as the eight weeks he was sentenced to previously.
Court documents said he was jailed because of his “flagrant disregard for court orders” and “because the offence was aggravated by the defendant’s record of previous offending”.
He was also fined £154.
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Harrogate man jailed for ‘humiliating and degrading’ sex attack
A man has been jailed for a “humiliating and degrading” sex attack on a young woman at a property in Harrogate.
Andrew Reekie, 33, left the woman “haunted” and an emotional wreck following the “absolutely disgusting” assault, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Shaun Dodds said the victim tried to kick Reekie off her during the assault and told him to “get off”. She was crying afterwards and told a friend what had happened.
Reekie told her she “wouldn’t dare ring the police” but she plucked up the courage to do so.
Reekie, of Bramham Drive, Jennyfields, was brought in for questioning two months after the attack but refused to answer police questions.
He was charged with sexual assault but denied the offence, only to plead guilty on the day of trial in January. He appeared for sentence yesterday.
The court heard he had previous convictions for serious violence, public disorder, acquisitive crime, possessing an offensive weapon, robbery, criminal damage and breaching court orders.
The victim, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said that “life as I knew it came to an abrupt and sudden halt” following the sex attack. She added:
“I was paralysed (with fear) and completely helpless.”
She said she was “powerless” to stop Reekie and she had felt an inexplicable but “overwhelming shame” since the incident, adding:
“I felt completely alone and unable to trust anyone.
“The sound of his voice will (continue) to play in my head. It was like a knife in my guts.”
Nightmares and shame
She said that after the attack she “couldn’t eat, I couldn’t sleep or socialise”.
She had nightmares of other women being sexually assaulted and she was “more and more anxious that it was going to happen to somebody else”.
She said that even reporting the attack only “intensified the shame” and she developed serious mental-health problems.
It had affected her work and she had felt “traumatised” about the prospect of giving evidence in court.
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She said that before the incident she was a “young woman full of confidence, looking forward to a bright future”, but Reekie had “took my young spirit and crushed it”.
She had sought professional help for her problems but there were still days when “I can’t get out of bed because I’m too haunted by what happened”. She added:
“I so desperately want my life back – the life (Reekie) took from me.”
‘A humiliating and degrading attack’
Defence barrister Andrew Stranex said Reekie was a father and had since found work.
Judge Sean Morris, the Recorder of York, described the incident as a “very nasty sexual assault”. He added:
“This was a humiliating and degrading attack.
“It has had a devastating effect on (the victim).”
He told Reekie:
“What you did was absolutely disgusting. You treated (the victim) like…your own personal pleasure ground.”
He said it was clear Reekie had refused to admit his guilt until the day of trial “in the hope that (the victim) wouldn’t have the courage to attend”.
Reekie was handed a 13-month jail sentence of which he will serve half behind bars before being released on prison licence. He was also ordered to sign on the sex-offenders’ register for 10 years.
Ripon man jailed for stabbing and biting police during ‘horrifying’ scenes
A man has been jailed for nearly five years for stabbing a young soldier in a “horrifying” attack in Ripon and biting police officers following his arrest.
Kyle Harpin, 34, went ballistic after a woman rejected his advances in a bar in the city centre and turned her attention to the victim instead, Leeds Crown Court heard.
Aggrieved by this rejection, Harpin crept up on the victim outside in the street and pulled out a 19-inch blade from the waistband of his trousers, said prosecutor Ben Campbell.
He pressed the knife against the victim’s throat, causing a cut to the front of his neck.
The victim walked away but Harpin, who was drunk, followed him down the street. He then stabbed the young man in the side of his stomach, causing a four-centimetre puncture wound.
The victim thought he had been punched but later realised he had been stabbed after noticing blood trickling from a wound to the side of his body, said Mr Campbell.
He was taken to Harrogate District Hospital and was discharged the following day after scans revealed no serious or life-threatening injuries.
Ripon night out
Mr Campbell said the victim had been out with friends for a night out in Ripon. By the end of the night, at about 4am on October 16 last year, he got talking to, and then kissed, the woman whom Harpin had tried to chat up in the bar earlier in the evening.
Unbeknown to the victim, Harpin was watching them while concealing a knife inside his waistband. Mr Campbell said:
“(Harpin) approached (the victim) from behind and put the knife to his throat.”
When the victim tried to walk away, Harpin plunged the knife into his side and then jogged off.
Harpin was was jailed for four years at Leeds Crown Court.
The victim, who was also drunk, said it felt “like a punch to the left side of his ribs” but then “looked down and could see he was bleeding”.
His friends took him to his army camp nearby where he was treated in the guard room before being taken to hospital where medical staff applied steri strips to his neck and a puncture dressing to the torso wound.
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Harpin, of Priest Lane, Ripon, was arrested and became “agitated and aggressive” with officers as they escorted him to custody, repeatedly banging his head against the police van and swearing at them.
He was taken to Harrogate hospital due to his repeated butting of the police vehicle. His handcuffs were removed to allow staff to check his blood pressure, but Harpin then threatened to punch the officers, before lunging at one of them and grabbing an officer by the throat in a chokehold. Mr Campbell added:
“He then shouted repeatedly that he was going to bite the nose from her face.”
He then tried to headbutt another officer before biting him on the hand. Harpin was arrested again and continued to hurl abuse at officers, including racial slurs. Mr Campbell said:
“He was making other threats that he would rape the wives of a police officer.”
Police found the knife, which was encased in a black sheath, in an alleyway in Ripon.
Charged with attempted murder
Harpin was initially charged with attempted murder of the stab victim but denied this and ultimately offered a plea to an alternative charge of wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. This plea was accepted by the prosecution and the attempted-murder charge was dropped.
He was also charged with carrying a blade, threatening a person with a knife, two counts of assaulting a police officer and racially aggravated threatening behaviour towards one of the constables. He admitted the offences and appeared for sentence via video link yesterday.
The court heard he had 23 previous convictions for over 30 offences dating back 20 years including theft, assaulting and resisting police officers, public disorder and battery.
Defence barrister Robert Mochrie said Harpin had drug and alcohol issues in the past and been diagnosed with mental health problems following a troubled upbringing, but conceded that the incident in Ripon was a “horrifying scene”.
Judge Tom Bayliss KC said although Harpin was “no stranger to trouble with the police”, his latest offences were “of a different order” to those he had committed in the past. He added:
“Because what you have now demonstrated is that you are perfectly prepared to go out at night on the streets of Ripon armed with a knife and to threaten people with it and to use it to inflict injury or serious injury.”
He said the young soldier “must have been terrified” when Harpin drew out the blade and noted that Harpin had “already threatened others with it”. Mr Bayliss said:
“It’s purely good fortune that he did not suffer more serious injuries.”
He said he was “quite satisfied” Harpin posed a risk of harm to the public and therefore found him to be a dangerous offender in the eyes of the law.
Harpin, who clutched Rosary beads during his court appearance from a custody suite, was jailed for four years and nine months and was told he would only become eligible for parole two-thirds the way through that sentence, and only then if the parole board deemed him fit to be released.
As a dangerous offender, Harpin was also ordered to serve an extended three-year period on prison licence.
Harrogate man jailed for possessing ‘madball’ at convention centre
A Harrogate man has been jailed for five months for possessing a glass ball in a sock.
John Donaldson, 32, of Cheltenham Crescent, had the improvised weapon, known as a madball, at Harrogate Convention Centre on November 15 last year.
He admitted the offence at Harrogate Magistrates Court last week.
Court documents say Donaldson was jailed because of the seriousness of the offence and for his previous record of offending.
He was also ordered to pay a £154 surcharge to fund victims’ services and a £85 costs to the Crown Prosecution Service.
A police picture of a glass ball in a sock — not the one referred to in this case.
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